A variety of neuromuscular diseases result in dystussia and/or dysphagia (disordered swallow). Recent research in clinical populations has documented that many of these patients have a disorder of airway protection consisting of both dystussia and dysphagia, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis, stroke and Parkinson's disease (PD) (Cabre et al., 2010; Jones, Enright, & Busse, 2011; Sue Eisenstadt, 2010; Lechtzin et al., 2006; Lalmohamed A et al., 2012). Voluntary and reflexive cough have been shown to detect and/or predict dysphagia in stroke and Parkinson's disease (Pitts et al., 2010; Smith Hammond et al., 2009; Smith Hammond et al., 2001), and in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease the leading cause of death is aspiration pneumonia.
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